The present invention relates generally to data communications networks and more particularly relates to a method of representing a complex node in an ATM based PNNI network.
Currently, there is a growing trend to make Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networking technology the base of future global communications. ATM has already been adopted as a standard for broadband communications by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and by the ATM Forum, a networking industry consortium.
ATM originated as a telecommunication concept defined by the Comite Consulatif International Telegraphique et Telephonique (CCITT), now known as the ITU, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for carrying user traffic on any User to Network Interface (UNI) and to facilitate multimedia networking between high speed devices at multi-megabit data rates. ATM is a method for transferring network traffic, including voice, video and data, at high speed. Using this connection oriented switched networking technology centered around a switch, a great number of virtual connections can be supported by multiple applications through the same physical connection. The switching technology enables bandwidth to be dedicated for each application, overcoming the problems that exist in a shared media networking technology, like Ethernet, Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). ATM allows different types of physical layer technology to share the same higher layerxe2x80x94the ATM layer.
ATM uses very short, fixed length packets called cells. The first five bytes, called the header, of each cell contain the information necessary to deliver the cell to its destination. The cell header also provides the network with the ability to implement congestion control and traffic management mechanisms. The fixed length cells offer smaller and more predictable switching delays as cell switching is less complex than variable length packet switching and can be accomplished in hardware for many cells in parallel. The cell format also allows for multi-protocol transmissions. Since ATM is protocol transparent, the various protocols can be transported at the same time. With ATM, phone, fax, video, data and other information can be transported simultaneously.
ATM is a connection oriented transport service. To access the ATM network a station requests a virtual circuit between itself and other end stations, using the signaling protocol to the ATM switch. ATM provides the User Network Interface (UNI) which is typically used to interconnect an ATM user with an ATM switch that is managed as part of the same network.
The current standard solution for routing in a private ATM network is described in the Private Network Node Interface (PNNI) Phase 0 and Phase 1 specifications published by ATM Forum. The previous Phase 0 draft specification is referred to as the Interim Inter-Switch Signaling Protocol (IISP). The goal of the PNNI specifications is to provide customers of ATM network equipment multi-vendor interoperability.
As part of the ongoing enhancement to the ATM standard by work within the ATM Forum and other groups, the Private Network to Network Interface (PNNI) protocol Phase 1 has been developed for use between private ATM switches and between groups of private ATM switches. The PNNI specification includes two categories of protocols. The first protocol is defined for the distribution of topology information between switches and clusters of switches where the information is used to compute routing paths within the network. The main feature of the PNNI hierarchy mechanism is its ability to automatically configure itself within the networks in which the address structure reflects the topology. The PNNI topology and routing techniques are based on the well-known link state routing technique.
The second protocol is effective for signaling, i.e., the message flows used to establish point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections across the ATM network. This protocol is based on the ATM Forum User to Network Interface (UNI) signaling with mechanisms added to support source routing, crankback and alternate routing of source SETUP requests in the case of bad connections.
With reference to the PNNI Phase 1 specifications, the PNNI hierarchy begins at the lowest level where the lowest level nodes are organized into peer groups. A logical node in the context of the lowest hierarchy level is the lowest level node. A logical node is typically denoted as simply a node. A peer group is a collection of logical nodes wherein each node within the group exchanges information with the other members of the group such that all members maintain an identical view of the group. When a logical link becomes operational, the nodes attached to it initiate and exchange information via a well known Virtual Channel Connection (VCC) used as a PNNI Routing Control Channel (RCC).
Hello messages are sent periodically by each node on this link. In this fashion the Hello protocol makes the two neighboring nodes known to each other. Each node exchanges Hello packets with its immediate neighbors to determine its neighbor""s local state information. The state information includes the identity and peer group membership of the node""s immediate neighbors and a status of its links to its neighbors. Each node then bundles its state information in one or more PNNI Topology State Elements (PTSEs) which are subsequently flooded throughout the peer group.
PTSEs are the smallest collection of PNNI routing information that is flooded as a unit among all logical nodes within a peer group. A node topology database consists of a collection of all PTSEs received, which represent that particular node""s present view of the PNNI routing topology. In particular, the topology database provides all the information required to compute a route from the given source node to any destination address reachable in or through that routing domain.
When neighboring nodes at either end of a logical link begin initializing through the exchange of Hellos, they may conclude that they are in the same peer group. If it is concluded that they are in the same peer group, they proceed to synchronize their topology databases. Database synchronization includes the exchange of information between neighboring nodes resulting in the two nodes having identical topology databases. A topology database includes detailed topology information about the peer group in which the logical node resides in addition to more abstract topology information representing the remainder of the PNNI routing domain.
During a topology database synchronization, the nodes in question first exchange PTSE header information, i.e., they advertise the presence of PTSEs in their respective topology databases. When a node receives PTSE header information that advertises a more recent PTSE version than the one that it has already or advertises a PTSE that it does not yet have, it requests the advertised PTSE and updates its topology database with the subsequently received PTSE. If the newly initialized node connects to a peer group then the ensuing database synchronization reduces to a one way topology database copy. A link is advertised by a PTSE transmission only after the database synchronization between the respective neighboring nodes has successfully completed. In this fashion, the link state parameters are distributed to all topology databases in the peer group.
Flooding is the mechanism used for advertising links whereby PTSEs are reliably propagated node by node throughout a peer group. Flooding ensures that all nodes in a peer group maintain identical topology databases. A short description of the flooding procedure follows. PTSEs are encapsulated within PNNI Topology State Packets (PTSPs) for transmission. When a PTSP is received its component PTSEs are examined. Each PTSE is acknowledged by encapsulating information from its PTSE header within the acknowledgment packet that is sent back to the sending neighbor. If the PTSE is new or of more recent origin then the node""s current copy, the PTSE is installed in the topology database and flooded to all neighboring nodes except the one from which the PTSE was received. A PTSE sent to a neighbor is periodically retransmitted until acknowledged.
Note that flooding is an ongoing activity wherein each node issues PTSPs with PTSEs that contain updated information. The PTSEs contain the topology databases and are subject to aging and are removed after a predefined duration if they are not refreshed by a new incoming PTSE. Only the node that originated a particular PTSE can re-originate that PTSE. PTSEs are reissued both periodically and on an event driven basis.
As described previously, when a node first learns about the existence of a neighboring peer node which resides in the same peer group, it initiates the database exchange process in order to synchronize its topology database with that of its neighbor""s. The database exchange process involves exchanging a sequence of database summary packets that contain the identifying information of all PTSEs in a node topology database. The database summary packet performs an exchange utilizing a lock step mechanism whereby one side sends a database summary packet and the other side responds with its own database summary packet, thus acknowledging the received packet.
When a node receives a database summary packet from its neighboring peer, it first examines its topology database for the presence of each PTSE described within the packet. If the particular PTSE is not found in its topology database or if the neighboring peer has a more recent version of the PTSE then the node requests the PTSE from the particular neighboring peer or optionally from another neighboring peer whose database summary indicates that it has the most recent version of the PTSE.
A corresponding neighboring peer data structure is maintained by the nodes located on either side of the link. The neighboring peer data structure includes information required to maintain database synchronization and flooding to neighboring peers.
It is assumed that both nodes on either side of the link begin in the Neighboring Peer Down state. This is the initial state of the neighboring peer for this particular state machine. This state indicates that there are no active links through the neighboring peer. In this state, there are no adjacencies associated with the neighboring peer either. When the link reaches the point in the Hello protocol where both nodes are able to communicate with each other, the event AddPort is triggered in the corresponding neighboring peer state machine. Similarly when a link falls out of communication with both nodes the event DropPort is triggered in the corresponding neighboring peering state machine. The database exchange process commences with the event AddPort which is thus triggered but only after the first link between the two neighboring peers is up. When the DropPort event for the last link between the neighboring peers occurs, the neighboring peer state machine will internally generate the DropPort last event closing all state information for the neighboring peers to be cleared.
It is while in the Negotiating state that the first step is taken in creating an adjacency between two neighboring peer nodes. During this step it is decided which node is the master, which is the slave and it is also in this state that an initial Database Summary (DS) sequence number is decided upon. Once the negotiation has been completed, the Exchanging state is entered. In this state the node describes is topology database to the neighboring peer by sending database summary packets to it.
After the peer processes the database summary packets, the missing or updated PTSEs can then be requested. In the Exchanging state the database summary packets contain summaries of the topology state information contained in the node""s database. In the case of logical group nodes, those portions of the topology database that where originated or received at the level of the logical group node or at higher levels is included in the database summary. The PTSP and PTSE header information of each such PTSE is listed in one of the node""s database packets. PTSEs for which new instances are received after the exchanging status has been entered may not be included in a database summary packet since they will be handled by normal flooding procedures.
The incoming data base summary packet on the receive side is associated with a neighboring peer via the interface over which it was received. Each database summary packet has a database summary sequence number that is implicitly acknowledged. For each PTSE listed, the node looks up the PTSE in its database to see whether it also has an instance of that particular PTSE. If it does not or if the database copy is less recent, then the node either re-originates the newer instance of the PTSE or flushes the PTSE from the routing domain after installing it in the topology database with a remaining lifetime set accordingly.
Alternatively, if the listed PTSE has expired, the PTSP and PTSE header contents in the PTSE summary are accepted as a newer or updated PTSE with empty contents. If the PTSE is not found in the node""s topology database, the particular PTSE is put on the PTSE request list so it can be requested from a neighboring peer via one or more PTSE request packets.
If the PTSE request list from a node is empty, the database synchronization is considered complete and the node moves to the Full state.
However, if the PTSE request list is not empty then the Loading state is entered once the node""s last database summary packet has been sent. At this point, the node now knows which PTSE needs to be requested. The PTSE request list contains a list of those PTSEs that need to be obtained in order to synchronize that particular node""s topology database with the neighboring peer""s topology database. To request these PTSEs, the node sends the PTSE request packet containing one or more entries from the PTSE request list. The PTSE request list packets are only sent in the Exchanging state and the Loading state. The node can send a PTSE request packet to a neighboring peer and optionally to any other neighboring peers that are also in either the Exchanging state or the Loading state and whose database summary indicate that they have the missing PTSEs.
The received PTSE request packets specify a list of PTSEs that the neighboring peer wishes to receive. For each PTSE specified in the PTSE request packet, its instance is looked up in the node""s topology database. The requested PTSEs are subsequently bundled into PTSPs and transmitted to the neighboring peer. Once the last PTSE and the PTSE request list has been received, the node moves from the Loading state to the Full state. Once the Full state has been reached, the node has received all PTSEs known to be available from its neighboring peer and links to the neighboring peer can now be advertised within PTSEs.
A major feature of the PNNI specification is the routing algorithm used to determine a path for a call from a source user to a destination user. The routing algorithm of PNNI is a type of link state routing algorithm whereby each node is responsible for meeting its neighbors and learning their identities. Nodes learn about each other via the flooding of PTSEs described hereinabove. Each node computes routes to each destination user using the information received via the PTSEs to form a topology database representing a view of the network.
Using the Hello protocol and related FSM of PNNI, neighboring nodes learn about each other by transmitting a special Hello message over the link. This is done on a periodic basis. When a node generates a new PTSE, the PTSE is flooded to the other nodes within its peer group. This permits each node to maintain an up to date view of the network.
Once the topology of the network is learned by all the nodes in the network, routes can be calculated from source to destination users. A routing algorithm commonly used to determine the optimum route from a source node to a destination node is the Dijkstra algorithm. The Dijkstra algorithm is used to generate the Designated Transit List which is the routing list used by each node in the path during the setup phase of the call. Used in the algorithm are the topology database (link state database) which includes the PTSEs received from each node, a Path List comprising a list of nodes for which the best path from the source node has been found and a Tentative List comprising a list of nodes that are only possibly the best paths. Once it is determined that a path is in fact the best possible, the node is moved from the Tentative List to the Path List.
The algorithm begins with the source node (self) as the root of a tree by placing the source node ID onto the Path List. Next, for each node N placed in the Path List, N""s nearest neighbors are examined. For each neighbor M, the cost of the path from the root to N to the cost of the link from N to M is added. If M is not already in the Path List or the Tentative List with a better path cost, M to the Tentative List is added.
If the Tentative List is empty, the algorithm terminates. Otherwise, the entry in the Tentative List with the minimum cost is found. That entry is moved to the Path List and the examination step described above is repeated.
The ATM PNNI specification provides for a topological hierarchy that can extend up to The hierarchy is built from the lowest level upward with the lowest level representing the physical network. A node in the lowest level represents only itself and no other nodes. Nodes in the upper levels, i.e., two through ten, are represented by what are known as logical nodes. A logical node does not exist physically but is an abstraction of a node. A logical node represents an entire peer group but at a higher level in the hierarchy.
A complex node representation is used to represent the aggregation of nodes in a peer group at the level of the logical node. The metrics, attributes and/or parameters (hereinafter referred to simply as metrics) of the links and nodes within the peer group are represented in summarized form. This permits peer groups with large numbers of nodes and links to be represented in a simple fashion.
A disadvantage of the complex node representation is that each logical group node entity must run a heavy algorithm in order to generate the logical group node PTSEs and the information contained therein. Each logical group node must also run the signaling algorithms, which are complicated and heavy by themselves, in order to generate the SVCC-based RCC for the logical links connecting that particular logical group node to other entities.
In actuality, however, one of the physical nodes making up a peer group is given the task of instantiating the logical group node representing the node""s parent. Normally, the physical node (located in the child peer of the logical group node to be instantiated) assigned this task is the peer group leader (PGL). Thus, the node designated the PGL is required to commit network and computing resources to run the logical group node functions, maintain one or more SVCC-based RCCs, etc. in addition to providing computing resources to run the functions of a normal physical node, i.e., routing, signaling, Hello FSM protocol, etc.
A disadvantage of this is that the resource requirements required to run the logical group node functions alone may be excessive and may place a huge burden on the physical node designated the PGL. The resource requirements will vary with the number of logical nodes in the higher levels of the hierarchy, the number of physical and logical links associated therewith, etc. Note that any change in a node or link that is advertised to other nodes, requires that the complex node representation of one or more associated logical group nodes must be calculated anew. The resources required to accomplish this may dwarf the resources required just for regular node functions such as routing, signaling, etc.
The present invention is a system of building a hierarchy in a PNNI based ATM network utilizing one or more proxy SVCC-based RCC entities. The invention has application where it would be burdensome for one of the switching nodes to perform not only the normally required routing and switching functions, but also to act as peer group leader and logical group node for upper levels in the hierarchy. The invention provides for the routing, signaling, etc. functions to be separated from the functions required to be performed by the peer group leader and the logical group node. A dedicated computing platform is provided and is connected to the network but does not perform functions related to routing, signaling, etc. Rather, it is dedicated to running peer group leader and logical group node functions, including complex node representation (summarization calculations) of the child peer group.
The dedicated computer participates in the PNNI routing protocol but not the signaling protocol. It therefore advertises itself as a xe2x80x98restricted transitxe2x80x99 node and does have any direct users attached to it. The dedicated computer also has dedicated PVCs connecting it to one or more entities that are termed xe2x80x98proxy SRCCxe2x80x99 nodes. The proxy SRCC nodes perform the SRCC functionality on behalf of the dedicated computer.
When the border nodes in the peer group run the Hello FSM over outside links they each advertise the closest proxy SRCC entity, which is themselves. In response, the border nodes on the other side of the outside link are operative to generate an uplink with the advertised address of the proxy SRCC.
In this fashion, when the logical group nodes in the logical peer group establish RCC SVCCs, they will establish them to one of the proxy SRCCs. The PNNI routing messages will be relayed from the proxy SRCC to the dedicated computer peer group leader/logical group node via a previously established PVC. The dedicated computer peer group leader/logical group node is then able to flood the local logical group node PTSEs to its neighboring nodes.
An advantage of the system of the present invention is that a dedicated computer is used to perform the tasks and functionality of a logical group node, while the remainder of the nodes function as regular switches performing the non-PGL portion of the PNNI protocol, i.e., routing, signaling, etc.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention, in a Private Network to network Interface (PNNI) based Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network a method of building a PNNI hierarchy, the method comprising the steps of providing a dedicated computer for performing peer group leader and logical group node functions, including complex node representation, connecting the dedicated computer to the network, and the dedicated computer advertising itself as a restricted transit node, providing one or more proxy switched routing control channel (SRCC) nodes for performing SRCC functions on behalf of the dedicated computer, creating permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) from the dedicated computer to the proxy SRCCs, advertising, by one or more border nodes, the closest proxy SRCC thereto, generating one or more uplinks with the address of a proxy SRCC, establishing a switched virtual circuit connection (SVCC) based RCC, a logical group node, to a proxy SRCC and relaying PNNI messages from a proxy SRCC to the dedicated computer via the PVC. The proxy SRCCs are established on border nodes.
In addition, the step of providing a dedicated computer comprises the step of configuring the dedicated computer to perform the calculations of the logical group node, including the complex node representation calculations at all levels in the hierarchy, while changes in any child peer groups that cause the recalculation of the complex logical group node do not consume computing resources from any non dedicated switches that continue to create and delete switched virtual circuits (SVCs).